Explosive-engine



No. 624,555. Patented May 9, |893, H. SMITH.

EXPLOSIVE ENGINE.

(Application led Oct. 4, 1897.)

(No Modal.)

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HINSDALE SMITI-LOF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

ExPLoslvE-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 624,555. dated May 9, 18979. Application filed October 4, 1897. Serial No. 653,933. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern: f

Be it known that I, HINSDALE SMITH, a ci! izen of the United States, and a resident of Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Gas-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in gasolene and analogous explosive engines, the object being to provide means which form part of the engine whereby the exhaust or expulsion of the dead gas from the cylinderchamber will be complete after every driving or working stroke of the piston.

Another object of the invention is to simplify the engine and to render it readily reversible at pleasure.

The invention consists in the engine constructed substantially as hereinafter described, and set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which the present improvements are illustrated, and in which- Figure 1 is a central longitudinal sectional View through the cylinder and piston and other parts of the engine in which the invention is comprised. Fig. 2 is a view of the piston or piston-rod, to be hereinafter referred to, as showing a modified construction thereof for permitting a contraction and distention thereof in the operation of the engine. Fig. 3 is a side' view of a detent device as seen at right angles to its position shown at Fig l. Fig. 4 is a view of a modification of said detent device.

Similar characters of reference represent corresponding part-s in all of the views.

In the drawings, A represents the enginecylinder, which is understood as being suitably mounted and supported, B being the piston, and C is the crank-shaft, having the crank C2, with which the piston is connected.

a indicates the ingress-passage for the introduction into the cylinder, behind the piston, of the vaporized gasolene or other eXplosive fluid used as the motor agent, the same being adapted to be injected past the valve Z), which is normally held to its seat b2 by the comparatively light spring b3.

G represents the exhaust-passage, connected with the port or'valve-seat c2, at which the valve d is applied.

The stein d2 of the valve d for closing the exhaust-port has connected therewith the return bent end of a rod g, which ranges alongside the cylinder, being suitably guided, and this carries a lug or abutm ent-piece h, preferably adjustable thereon as secured by the set-screw h2, and this lug h projects inwardly across the path of the forward 4.portion of the piston, so that the piston will at' the completion ot' its forward' working or explosion stroke in forcing the lug h slightly rearwardly through the connections just described and shown cause the opening ofthe valve d.

It will be perceived on reference to the drawings that the piston-rod is formed in two sections B2 B3, the one telescoping the other and maintained normally in their most distended relations by the spring fm.

The piston-rod section B3, which is engagedl with the crank or wrist pin C2, is tubular, while the piston-rod section B2 has a portion thereof fittingin-the tubular section, its inner extremity being necked down, whereby the shoulder 7c is produced. The spring m is seated in the tubular piston-rod section and has its opposite end resting .against the shoulder 7c. The said section B3 has the opposite slots 'n fn, in which the extremities of the guiding-pin n2, which is passed through a transverse opening therefor in the piston-rod section B2, have a sliding guiding t.

In this type of engine the piston B has its thrust onworking stroke by reason of the eX- ploded gas in the cylinder-chamber behind it, it working by momentum on the relatively intermediate reciprocations.

The spark for causing the explosion of the gas after the same has been introduced into the cylinder and been compressed by the piston and when the piston is at or near its rearward limit is produced at e by the forming of an electric circuit, which is adapted t0` be periodically closed with the exception of the slightly-separated points at e, between which the current jumps at the proper time, making the spark, and while thespark-producing device embodies no novelty as to any broadly-considered aspect thereof it will be pointed out to consist in the parts and connections, as follows: The stem e2, having its inner end terminating near a part e3, which is substantially a part 0f the cylinder-case,

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has connected therewith the wire e4, running to the contact e5, and the adjacent contact e is by a wire e7 connected to a contact or finger es, supported on and insulated, as seen at 20, from the engine-body or cylinder-case D. A battery is connected in in the ordinary Way in one of the wires constituting the circuit, as aforesaid.

There is an arm 612 affixed upon and radially extended from the crank-shaft, the outer end portion thereof being by the insulation t cut out from electrical connection with the crank-shaft,-the extremity of this arm @12 having in its revolution a wiping contact on and disengagement from the paired adjacent contact pieces or fingers e5 e". The said contactfingers c5 @Gare mounted on a leverf, normally stationary, but adapted to have its position changed from a center of movement which is coincident with the axis of the crank-shaft.

Supported on and movable in unison with the piston or what is in substance the same, the pistou-rod section B2, is the forwardly and longitudinally7 extending spring contact plate or finger e, carrying at its end the incline 21, the position of which is adjacent a second inclined block 22, mounted on the side of the piston-rod section B2.

The contact fingers or plates es ef" are arranged angular, the one relatively to the other, as seen in the drawings.

The rod g,connected with the exhaust-valve CZ, has its end which is toward the crank-shaft provided with the enlargementp, the forward end of which is conical and which is disposed when the valve is closed adjacent the outturned ends 2 of the opposing spring-arms q, the intermediate portions of which arms are arranged convergent, the one relative to the other, as seen in Fig. 3. Then the valve is opened, the rod ghas the enlargementp thereof borne upon with a yielding pressure by the reaction of the convergent arms q, so as to retain the valve in its open position and yet not to obstruct itsbeing closed when borne against by the piston, as hereinafter explained, with a positive and sufficiently forcible pressure to overcome the bind upon the said enlargement p by the spring-arms which serve as the detent therefor. The said enlargement may, as shown in Fig. 3, consist of a cylindrical fixture on the rod tC/,having a conical forward end;

the position indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 4 the spring-arms q2 q2 are spread wider apartfor farther divergent up to the time the pivots are brought in line, and then as the rod completes this endwise movement the springarms react and again resume their normal positions, so that in order for the rod to again resume its position (shown by the full lines) such forcible pressure must be exerted thereagainst as to again spread the spring-arms to permit the links of the toggle to assumetheir reversed or original position.

Now assuming after a stroke on an explosion that the valve CZ has been opened by the abutment of the piston against the lug hon rod g, it remains open by reason of the detent device at o engaging the rod,and through it holding the valve d in its opened position. Now as the piston moves with its piston-rod distended under the reaction of the applied spring m toward the head of the cylinder, and finally to abutment against the inner wall of the cylinder-head, it positively forces out substantially all the dead gas remaining after the explosion, and at the very end of its rearward stroke in contacting against the valve d directly and bodily closes said valve, the spring m being more powerful than the detaining force of the device 19 q. As the piston next moves by the action of momentum of the engine forwardly the considerable suction thereby created in the cylinder causes the opening of the valve b against its comparatively light spring, permitting the introduction into the cylinder behind the pistonof the sufficient quantity of gas or vaporized hydrocarbon or other fluid employed as the motor agent. The piston again rearwardly moving compresses the gas or explosive fluid, which is elastic and capable of being compressed to occupy but a fraction of its normal volume, and in the compression the piston and its piston-rod section B2 has a movement of contraction relative to the piston-rod section B3 and the crank, the forward end of section B2 bottoming against the closed or solid forward end of section B3, so that the explosion which takes place at the completion of the compressing action reacts against the pisfon,which has a piston-rod now capable of vno further contraction, but in its driving action to all intents and purposes the same'as a simple integrally-formed piston-rod connecting the piston and the crank.

The discharge or expulsion of practically all of the dead gas remaining in the cylinderchamber directly after the explosion-stroke and before the introduction of the supply of the gas or vapor for the next stroke is very important and ad vantageous in acquiring the full efficiency of the gas and-in assuring the certainty of operation of the sparking devices.

It will be explained that by the provisionof the normally open contact parts es and e9 notwithstanding the terminals c5 and c are joined atvevery rotation of the crank-shaft as thev arm @12 colnes around upon said terminals there will not be a closing of the circuit, for it is to be pointed out that the parts e8 and e9 are not joined at every forward stroke of the piston, but they are joined at or near the rool IlO

624,555 l v le end of every second or compression stroke, and this will be seen to be for the reason that in its forward stroke next after the explosion or workingstroke the piston is at its maximum distance from the crank, the spring being then uncompressed, and the incline 21of contactplate e9 will merely pass the inclined contact e8 without touching it; but in its rearward gas-compressing movement the piston and piston-rod section B2 moving endwise relative to the piston-rod section B3 assures the action of the one incline 21 against the other 22 and offsetting of the extremityT of spring-plate e9, so that the path of this extremity as it moves with the piston to the completion of said gascompression action, just above referred to, is such that the said plates es e9 will contact at the proper time for the making of the spark, which is simultaneous with the instant that the arm cl2 is in wiping contact on the terminals e c6. It will be understood that byslightly `swinging the lever f upwardly or downwardly the contacting arm cl2 will haveits wiping action on the contacts e5 e correspondingly earlier or later in the revolution of said arm,

and thus the instant of producing the spark may be determined to a nicety. It is also to be noted that the piston operates to open the exhaust-valve only at every other strokeviz., the explosion-stroke-as the forward end of the piston does not reach the abutment h except at the time .it moves to its forward limit and when it is in its contracted relation' to the crank under the pressure of the exploded gas.

I do not wish tohave the invention considered as necessarily limited to employment in a gas-engine of a type comprising novel features as claimed by me of means by which the explosion is necessarily accomplished by electrical spark producing appliances, for while these devices are believed to embody speciiic features of novelty properly herein claimed other means for the ignition of a known character may be employed, and, again, while the invention in part comprises the coperative combination of the piston contractible relative to the crank-shaft, substantially as described, with the exhaustvalve d and its adjunct devices shown the piston, having the capability of the contraction and distention relative to the crankshaft for the principal object stated, may be employed in an engine of this general type in which the eXhaust-valveis independently operated and controlled.

I do not wish to limit myself to the constructions shown in Fig. l, whereby the piston is capable of assuming the relations of contraction and distention relative to the crank-shaft, for other constructions of parts differing in form and arrangement may be substituted to the same end, and in Fig. 2 the piston-rod is shown in two sections, the one telescoping the other and the one operating against an air-cushion a-t in the submeansfor this purpose toward the crank.

shaft is the preferable one the head of the device-that is, the piston itselfmight be made in two sections, the one cushioning on the other with good results; but as the head of thepiston is subject to heat in thecontinued operation ofthe engine the spring or other medium of yielding resistance would in time become disadvantageously affected thereby.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is l. In a gas-engine of the character described, the combination with the cylinder having an exhaustpassage, leading therefrom, provided with 'a valve which opens inwardly to the cylinder, and provided with a valved gas-inlet passage, and the crank-shaft, of a piston comprising, between its rear end and its connection with the said shaft, members which are movable one relative to the other, and provided with a reacting interposed cushion, whereby as the piston moves rearwardly against gas which has been entered in the cylinder, the said piston meniwhereby as the pistn moves rearwardly in the absence of gas in the cylinder, its members will havetheir normal, distended, relations, substantially as described, a device connected with the exhaust-valve for opening it, and all so arranged that the piston at or operates said valve-opening device, the piston while in its distendedrelation onthe rearward stroke, closing the valve.

2. In a gas-engine, the-combination with the crank-shaft, `the cylinder having the valve and the valve-operating rod provided withan abutment, of a piston comprising, Vbetween its rear end and its connection with the saidv shaft, members which are movable one relative to the other, and provided with a reacting interposed cushion, whereby as the piston reeiprocates alternately, during the presence or absence of gas in the cylinder, said members will assume respectively contracted and distended relations, substantially as de scribed, one of said movable piston members being adapted on its alternate forward strokes, in its contracted relation, said abutment and open the valve. n

3. In a gas-engine, the combination with the crank-shaft, the cylinder having an inwardlyopening valve and means for periodically opening the valve whereby it occupies a position withinl the inner end wall of the cylin- ,about the forward limit of its Working stroke t to operate against IOO bers will assume contracted relations', but

, bers and means for bringing said plates into.

der, of a piston comprising, between its rear cnd and its connection with the said shaft, members which are movable one relative to the other, and provided with a reacting interposed cushion, whereby as the piston reciprocates alternately during the presence or absence of gas in the cylinder, saidmembers will assume respectively contracted and distended relations, substantially as described, one of said movable piston members being adapted on its alternate forward strokes, while in its distended relation, to operate directly against the valve, forcing it closed.

4:. In a gas-en gine, the combination with the crank-shaft, the cylinder having the valve and the valve-operating rod g, provided with an abutment h, of apiston comprising between its rear end and its connection with the said shaft, members which are movable one relalive to the other, and provided with a react- -ing interposed cushion, whereby as the piston reciprocates alternately during the presence and absence of gas in the cylinder, said members will assume respectively contracted and distended relations, substantially as described, one of said movable members being adapted on its alternate forward stroke in its contracted relation to uoperate against said abutment and open thevalve, and a detent device for engaging the valve-operatin g rod g, substantially as described.

5. In a gas-engine, the combination with the cylinder and crank-shaft, of the piston constructed to be contractible and distensible between its rear end and its connection with the crank-shaft and havingthe interposed reacting cushion, adjacent points c2 c3 within the cylinder-chamber, electric conductors connecting said points comprising a source of electrical supply, and in connection with plates which are on said movable piston memcontact at every working or explosion stroke, of the piston, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In agas-engine, the combination with the crank-shaft, piston and cylinder, having the adjacent points e2 es, the two terminals c6 e7 andasupport f mounted foran adj usted swinging movement from a point coincident with the axis of the crank-shaft on which said terminals are supported, the arm @12 on the crankshaft for uniting the said terminals at every rotation of thecrank-shaft and electric conductors for providing connection between said terminals and said points e6 e7, one thereof having connected therein a battery, substantially as described.

7. In. a gas-engine having the cylinder and contractible and distensible piston, substantially as described, the separated, but adjacent sparking-points e2 e3 in the cylinder and circuit-conductors therefor,having connected therein a battery, the one comprising as connected therein, the plate e8 insulated on the engine-case, the spring-plate e9 mounted ou one of the movable piston members, a cam or incline 22 supported on the other movable piston member against which the plate e9 im pin ges as the piston members assume their contracted relation whereby a part of the said plate e9 is transversely moved so that its path as it moves bodily in 4unison with the piston, will insure bers are adapted to alternately assume the contracted and distended relations, substantially as described, one of said movable members being adapted, in the operation of the engine, onits alternate forward stroke, and in its contracted relation, to act'against said abutment and open the valve, and the paired spring-arms q q having the outturned ends between which said enlargement of the ro'd g may be forced, and thereby temporarily detained, substantially as described.

9. In agas-engine,the combination with the crank-shaft, having thereon the arm l2, and the cylinder provided with the valved gasingress passage and a valved exhaust-passage and having the adjacent sparking-points c2 c3, of the rod g connected with the exhaustvalve and having the abutment 7L and a detent device applied to operate on said rod, of the piston comprising the head and pistonrod member B2,provided with the spring-plate e9, and the telescoping member B3 having the incline 22, and the interposed spring ibetween said piston-rod members, the movable support f having the two insulated terminals c5 e6 supported thereon, a wire running from one of said terminals to said sparking-point c2, the plate e8 insulated on the engine-body, and a wire ruiming from the other of said terminals, to said plate e8 and one of said.

I-IINSDALE SMITH.

Witnesses.:

WM. S. BELLows, M. A. CAMPBELL.

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